Marvellous Maeve Higgins has an apparently meandering style that conceals some seismic punchlines. Now resident in the US, she reveals how running a comedy workshop in Iraq and podcasting with different immigrants has led her to a more global consciousness. She shares some brilliant writing "cheats" for silencing your inner critic, and we explore in detail the close relationships she has cultivated with the editors of her novels and column...

Provocative, disarmingly frank and very funny, Ola is an emphatic voice in British comedy. As well as getting into the nitty-gritty of his creativity, we discuss Ola's faith as the foundation of his self-belief, and take a whirlwind tour through #WhiteTears, intersectionality and how he feels about wielding the racial discomfort of his audience...

An astonishingly original and creative approach to comedy finds El Salvadoran American "space prince" and SNL writer Julio Torres describing his favourite shapes to an audience, at some length. One of the most arresting comics around, we talk about his stillness, his spontaneity, and why he won't and/or can't change gear...
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See Stu on tour in the UK at www.comedianscomedian.com/tour
Support the podcast at www.comedianscomedian.com/donate
Remember to download your free copy of Stu's album "Compared To What" on the podcast feed!

Colin's sublime creation "Anna Mann" is a faded actress (little ripple of recognition?) on a mission to fight the fascists! But she is only the tip of phenomenally creative and hilarious iceberg of talent. We shine a light on the darkness of his "Carnival of Monsters", and discuss surviving depression, moving on from a double-act, and get some unbelievable detail on how he "invites Anna in"...
See Anna on tour at www.colinhoult.net/tour
And discover Anna's new podcast by following @ColinHoult on Twitter!
See Stu's tour: www.comedianscomedian.com/tour
Support the podcast: www.comedianscomedian.com/donate
Submit your own original comedy material to "Everyone's A Comedian" at comedianscomedian.com/experiment - check the site for more details!

Her writing and performance in The Fast Show made her one of the most influential women in British sketch comedy; now Arabella Weir reflects on her work and the balance of power underpinning the five-man, most-often-one-woman sketch team. We discuss the tension and friction of making comedy; whether a happy person still has the same hunger to perform; and learn the awful truth about the genesis of her character "Girl Who Boys Can't Hear"...
Follow Arabella on twitter: @arabellaweir
See Stu on tour: www.comedianscomedian.com/tour
Support the podcast: www.comedianscomedian.com/donate
Submit your own original comedy material to "Everyone's A Comedian" at comedianscomedian.com/experiment - check the site for more details!

Motormouth reporter Jonathan Pie is the creation of motormouth actor Tom Walker. His online videos of a furious news reporter apparently caught on camera are massively viral and often hilarious. We talk about the synthesis of an internet character into a live show, discover the politics of the writing team behind the agitator, and encounter the pressures of a weekly committment to content.

In the second part of our conversation, comedy craftsman James Acaster examines his relationship to his audience, and how that changes under a variety of different pressures, and also reveals why he never sits down to write.

Unlock 45 mins of extra material from this conversation detailing James' reaction to comedy criticism, and some brilliant advice he once gave Stu, at comedianscomedian.com/extras